All NewsOctober 1, 2025

These Were the Russell 2000 Stocks That Dominated In Q3 2025

The small cap-focused Russell 2000 index has spent years lagging behind the larger S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes, but in third-quarter 2025 it took a big leap back to parity with large caps.

Thanks to interest-rate-cut bets and optimism across U.S. equities, the index clawed its way out of a hole created by President Trump’s April reciprocal tariff tumult. Not only that, but in Q3 it notched its first all-time high since November 2021. 

And with more rate cuts potentially on the horizon, the index could be heading higher, with nearly 60% of the index trading above its 200-day moving average.

However, there are components of the index that are doing one better. Or, in the case of the index’s top-performer this quarter, 538% better. Which are the small-cap names making the big strides? 

We explored, using data from Barchart:

Russell 2000: Q3 Best Performers

  • Mercurity Fintech Holding MFH (+538.44% over past 3 months)
  • Better Home & Finance Holdings BETR (+353%)
  • Kodiak Sciences KOD (+338.87%)
  • Korro Bio KRRO (+283.43%)
  • Celcuity CELC (+270.04%)
  • Bloom Energy BE (+253.55%)
  • American Battery Technology ABAT (+200%)
  • Tourmaline Bio TRML (+199.12%)
  • Anywhere Real Estate HOUS (+192.54%)
  • Niocorp Developments NB (+186.70%)

Zooming out, we see a handful of equities in the index that added to their year-to-date strides. Many of those names still saw impressive growth in the quarter, but deserve their own list:

Russell 2000: YTD Best Performers

  • Oncology Institute TOI (+1,029.45% year-to-date)
  • Thredup TDUP (+579.86%)
  • Better Home & Finance Holdings BETR (+529.37%)
  • Oklo OKLO (+425.81%)
  • Palvella Therapeutics PVLA (+422.42%)
  • Centrus Energy LEU (+365.50%)
  • Lightbridge LTBR (+348.41%)
  • Niocorp Developments NB (+330.97%)
  • Optimizerx OPRX (+321.81%)
  • Arena Group Holding AREN (+308.21%)

Disclaimer

The Arena Group Holding AREN is the parent of TheStreet. Its inclusion in this list is simply informative and purely measures its stock performance relative to other holdings in the Russell 2000 index. Its inclusion does not constitute an endorsement of the stock or any other equity for that matter.